Haley Conway
Article Review #4
Technology on the Horizon
Written by Chad Criswell
Teaching Music V.18, N. 5 February 2011
Part 1—Explain about the article
This article is about the growing use and functions that technology has within the
music classroom. He especially takes about the influence of the iPad, other
electronic tools, and the future of music and technology. There are also side sections
on how to find funding to support these technologies in your classroom and apps
that current educators use within their classrooms.
In the iPad section, he talks a lot about how it helps your students within your
ensembles and even non-music students experience music through composing and
creativity. Teachers have found it as a successful tool in helping students in special
education to create music because the iPad is a very interactive and nonintimidating. IPads have also be extremely effective within the elementary general
music classrooms because there are a variety of apps that can expose students to
different instruments and teachers can use them in support of instructional
strategies.
The next large section is discusses other technology tools that can be used within
the music classroom. There is the Soundbeam 5, which can be a great tool for
students with special needs or mobility-impaired because it allows anyone to create
musical compositions without requiring fine motor control. The Peterson BodyBeat
Sync allows multiple synchronized metronome units to receive a timing signal from
a single master unit. A great percussive tool that is mentioned is the Korg
WaveDrum, which is a one-size fit all device that contains hundreds of different
percussion sounds. And finally the Roland Octapad SPD-30 can encourage
compositional playing by giving students opportunities to play percussive sounds
on each of the pads and then be able to add a loop recording.
Part 2—How will you use it in the classroom?
It is becoming more and more common seeing new and different technologies enter
the music classrooms. The biggest idea I will take from this article is trying to find
ways to incorporate the iPad into my future classroom. I always hear of new apps
that can be used on the iPad that are great resources in every kind of music class. I
can also see them being useful tools to help gain interest from the non-music
students within the schools. Music can seem intimidating and uninteresting to
students who do not play in the concert ensembles. But the iPad can open up new
opportunities in composition that can get those students interested.